Spear and releasable hammer



0. J. M CULLOUGH SPEAR AND RELEAS EABLE HAMMER- Filed March 20, 1933 Patented Nov. 12, 1935 PATENT OFFICE SPEAR AND RELEASABLE HAMMER Otis J. McCullough, Huntington Park, Calif., as-

signor, by direct and mesne assignments, to James A. Kammerdiner, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application March 20,

. 13 Claims.

This invention relates to a spear and releasable hammer for use in oil or water wells, and particularly where it is desired to move pipe,

casing or other tubular objects or tools.

An object of my invention is to provide a'novel spear and releasable hammer in which the impacting or jarring surfaces are on the outside and are, therefore, not hindered by the presence of fluid in aconfining chamber.

Another object is to provide a novel spear and releasable hammer in which the pipe or casing engaging member is a part of .the jar and the jarring action is imparted directly to the gripping member and thence to the pipe or casing. Still another object is to provide 'a novel spear and releasable hammer including the combination of a novel releasing means, a pipe gripping means immediately below the releasing means and an anvil, or impactingsurface below the pipe gripping means; r

A feature of my invention resides in the absence of any packing, or the like, the circulating fluid being fed thru the center of the tool and thru parts that are rigidly secured together.

Other objects, advantages and-features of invention' may appear from the accompanying drawing, the subjoined detailed description and the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my spear and Figure 2 isa side elevation of my spear and releasable hammer viewed from the right, as

shown in Figure 1. V V V Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a sectional of Figure 1. ,7 7

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral l indicates a sub. This sub is provided with a threaded box or pin as shown at 2, so that the drill pipe can be connected thereto. A stem 3 screws into the sub l and extends downwardly therefrom. A shoe 4 screws onto the bottom of the stem 3. A vertical bore 5 extends thru the sub l, the stem 3 and the shoe 4, thus providing a passage for the circulating fluid. The above mentioned parts are all securely fastened a sectional view taken on line 4-4 view taken on line 5-5 together and therefore, no packing, or the like,

is required.

A gripping head'G is slidably and rotatably mounted on the stem 3, i. e'.,i this head can slide 1933, Serial No. 661,697

along the stem for the full amount of the stroke of the tool and it can also rotate thru an angle, the purpose of which will be further described.

The head 6 is provided with a plurality of teeth 1 which engage teeth 8 formed in the sub The sub l is notched as at 9 to receive the head 6. There are two notches 9 arranged 180 apart. The notches 9 are wider than the portion of the head 6 which fits into them and therefore, the head can be rotated sufficiently to disengage the teeth '|8. The lower face of the teeth I and the upper face of the teeth 8 are inclined upwardly so that they will tend to disengage when a strong upward pull is exerted upon them. A sleeve l0 depends from the head 6 and is preferably integrally formed therewith. This sleeve is provided with a plurality of external cam rings II. A collar I2 is positioned below the sleeve IE1 and is slidable thereon.

A flange I3 is formed on the bottom of the sleeve l0 and this flange serves to limit the longitudinal movement of the collar I2 and also acts as one of the impacting or anvil surfaces.

A plurality of pipe engaging slips M are mounted on the sleeve l0 and are cammed outwardly by the annular cams II. The slips are provided with inwardly extending cam surfaces [5 which co-operate with the cams l I, thus serving to move the slips outwardly when'said slips are pushed upwardly in. a manner to be further described. 1

' The slips are held in position by bars 18 which are detachably secured to the collar l2. These bars extend upwardly to an integral ring ll which surrounds the sleeve In. A plurality of horizontal fingers l8 protrude from the slips Id under the bars IS. The slips are thus held from falling out of the tool and are permitted to move vertically. A spring I9 is secured to each of the bars l6 for the purpose of yieldably engaging 0 the inside of the casing or pipe so that the slips can be actuated.

The collar I2 is provided with a cam slot 20 and the pin 2| protrudes from the sleeve it into the slot.

In operation the tool is lowered into the well with the slips [4 retracted. That is, the pin 2| will be positioned 180 from the point shown in Figures 1 and 2, i. e., the collar l2, the slips I l and the bars I 6 and the ring ll will be low- 50 ered. When the point has been reached in the casing where the jarring is to occur, the pipe (not shown) is rotated to the right and the collar 12, slips l4 and co-operating parts will be cammed upwardly. The springs l9 frictionally engage the inside of the casing, and therefore, the above mentioned camming operation will take place. The upward movement of the slips M will cause them to be cammed outwardly by the cams H and said slips will be forced tightly against the casing.

A slight twist in a clock-wise direction is maintained in the drill pipe to hold the teeth 18 in engagement. A strong upward pull on the drill pipe will cause the teeth 'l8 to suddenly spring apart, releasing the sub I, the stem 3 and shoe 4. This sudden release will carry the shoe 4 violently against the flange l3, thus striking a strong blow against the bottom of the flange and this blow is imparted to the slips [4 and thence to the casing. The sub l is then lowered until the teeth 1-8 again engage, the same clockwise twist is held in the pipe and the jarring operation is repeated.

In tools heretofore in use, the pipe engaging means was a separate tool mounted below the jar and consequently, the impact was not directly upon this tool. In my tool, the impact occurs below the slips and the blow is transmitted directly to said slips and thence to the casing. The external impacting surface eliminates the objectionable feature of a cushioning effect which is present in tools having internal striking surfaces. Liquid is always present in these tools and the sudden movement of parts within the tool is retarded by the confined fluid. Consequently, the full force of the blow is not available for useful work.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A spear and releasable hammer comprising a sub, pipe engaging means below the sub, spaced striking surfaces below the pipe engaging means, and releasable means comprising interengaging relatively slidable members operable to release upon predetermined strain coupling said sub and one of said striking surfaces.

2. A spear and releasable hammer compris- 7 ing a sub, a stem depending from the sub, a

shoe on the bottom of said stem, pipe engaging means slidably mounted upon said stem, and means comprising interengaging relatively slidable members operable to release upon predetermined strain coupling said sub and the pipe engaging means.

3. A spear and releasable hammer compris-' ing a sub, a stem depending from the sub, a shoe on the bottom of said stem, a gripping head, and means providing interengaging relatively slidable teeth on the sub and gripping head operable to release upon predetermined strain, and pipe engaging means on said gripping head.

4. A spear and releasable hammer comprising a sub, a stem depending from the sub, a shoe on the bottom of said stem, a gripping head, engageable teeth on the sub and gripping head, a sleeve depending from the gripping head, cam means on the sleeve, a plurality of slips mounted on the sleeve, said cam means engaging the slips whereby they are urged outwardly and means engaging said slips whereby they are moved against said cams and urged outwardly.

5. A spear and releasable hammer comprising a sub, a stem depending from the sub, a shoe on the bottom of the stem, a gripping head,

said head and sub being formed with engageable teeth, a sleeve depending from the gripping head, a flange on the bottom of the sleeve, a plurality of slips mounted on thesleeve, and means engaging the slips whereby they are .urged outwardly.

6. A spear and releasable hammer comprising a sub, a stem depending from the sub, a shoe on the bottom of the stem, a gripping head, said head and sub being formed with engageable teeth, a sleeve depending from the gripping head, 5

a flange on the bottom of the sleeve, a plurality of slips mounted on the sleeve, cam rings on said sleeve, said slips resting against the cam rings, a collar slidably mounted on the sleeve, said slips resting on the collar, a cam slot in 10 the collar, a pin protruding from the sleeve into the cam slot whereby said collar is elevated upon rotation of the sleeve and the slips are cammed outwardly. v

'7. A spear and releasable hammer compris- 15 ing a sub, a stem depending from the sub, a shoe on the bottom of the stem, said sub having a notch formed in the bottom thereof, a gripping head extending into the notch, inter-engaging teeth on the sub and gripping head, a go sleeve depending from the gripping head, said sleeve surrounding the stem, a flange on the bottom of the stem engageable with the shoe on upward movement of the sub and slip means on the sleeve. 25

8. A spear and releasable hammer comprising a sub, a stem depending from the sub, a shoe on the bottom of the stem, said sub having a notch formed in the bottom thereof, a gripping head extending into the notch, inter-engaging teeth on 3 the sub and gripping head, a sleeve depending from the gripping head, said sleeve surrounding the stem, a flange on the bottom of the stem engageable with the shoe on upward movement of the sub, a plurality of cams on the sleeve, a '35 plurality of slips resting against the cams, means holding the slips against the sleeve, a collar surrounding the sleeve and engaging the slips, a plurality of springs attached to the collar and projecting outwardly therefrom, said collar 4, having a cam slot and a pin projecting from the sleeve into the cam slot whereby rotation of the sleeve will urge the collar and slips upwardly thereby camming said slips outwardly.

9. A spear and releasable hammer comprising 5 a sub attached to a drill pipe, pipe engaging means below the sub, a stem depending from the sub and extending through the pipe engaging means and slidable therein, a striking surface on the pipe engaging means, and a second striking 50 surface on the stem, and releasable means comprising interengaging relatively slidable members operable to release upon predetermined strain coupling said sub and said pipe engaging means.

10. A spear and releasable hammer comprising 65 means providing a striking head, means for attaching the striking head to a drill pipe, gripping means disposed above the striking head, said gripping means providing an anvil engageable by the striking head, and releasable means com- 60 prising interengaging relatively slidable members operable to release upon predetermined strain between the gripping means and the drill pipe whereby the strain may be taken upon the drill pipe causing the striking head to subsequently 65 release and thus causing the striking head to impart an upward blow to the anvil and gripping means. 7,

11. A spear and releasable hammer comprising means providing a striking head, means for at 70 taching the striking head to a drill pipe, gripping means disposed above the striking head, said gripping means providing an anvil engageable by the striking head, and releasable means comprising interengaging relatively slidable members 15 operable to release upon predetermined strain between the gripping means and the drill pipe whereby the strain may be taken upon the drill pipe causing the striking head to subsequently release and thus causing the striking head to impart an upward blow to the anvil and gripping means, said releasable means being disposed at the top of the gripping means. A

12. A spear and releasable hammer comprising engaging means adapted to grip the apparatus which it is desired to jar, a stem slidably extending therethrough, a striking head on the bottom of the stem, an anvil on the bottom of the gripping means engageable by the head, releasable means comprising interengaging relatively slidable members operable to release upon predetermined strain between the stem and the gripping means, and means for attaching the stem to a drill pipe.

13. A spear and releasable hammer comprising gripping means, an anvil associated therewith, a striking head adapted to strike the anvil, means for attaching the striking head to a drill pipe, and means for holding the striking, head spaced from the anvil until a predetermined upward strain 10 -is taken on the drill pipe, and then release it to strike the anvil, said anvil and striking head being disposed below the gripping means.

OTIS J. MCCULLOUGH. 

